India vs West Indies: With the BCCI expected to announce ODI squad on Thursday, Rishabh Pant could find himself a spot in the team in place of Dinesh Karthik while MS Dhoni keeps his place as wicket-keeper.

Rishabh Pant and MS Dhoni | Courtesy: BCCI&nbsp

The talk around the town is on the future of Rishabh Pant in limited overs cricket for India with the youngster already impressing in the whites for the national team – be it against England or West Indies. As the BCCI selection committee gears up to announce the squad for the One-Day International series against the Windies today, Pant is likely to be included in place of Dinesh Karthik as a pure batsman while MS Dhoni will hold on to his spot behind the stumps.

Pant earned his maiden Test cap in England after Dinesh Karthik had injured himself and went on to score a 114-run knock against Joe Root's men at The Oval in the final Test. Having being ignored for a place in the ODI team for the Asia cup, Pant returned to the roster for the 2-match Test series at home against West Indies and ended up scoring an entertaining 84-ball 92 in the first Test at Rajkot.

Karthik, who is a specialist wicket-keeper but plays the role of a pure batsman in the team, hasn't been very impressive in the opportunities he earned with the Indian team so far. The thirties and forties have been coming from the bat of the Tamil Nadu-based batsman but he hasn't been able to convert them into big scores. In the last 5 innings, he only managed the scores of 33, 31*, 1*, 44 & 37.

“The problem is that he isn’t converting the 30s and 40s into big scores,” a source hinting towards Karthik being replaced by Pant for the West Indies ODIs, was quoted as saying by TOI.

While the Asia Cup was one platform to find the best combination for the ICC 2019 World Cup, ever limited overs series from now on will see the team selections being made keeping the eventual goal of the showpiece event in England in mind. A good performance against the men from the Carribean could see Pant put his name in contention for the World Cup too.

It is also believed that Kohli could be rested for the first three games of the 5-match ODI series, having pulled himself out of the Asia Cup due to mental fatigue and a wrist niggle previously. His absence could see Manish Pandey given another opportunity in the team after an impressive domestic season.

MS Dhoni stays but Rishabh Pant likely to replace Dinesh Karthik in ODI squad: ReportDescription:India vs West Indies: With the BCCI expected to announce ODI squad on Thursday, Rishabh Pant could find himself a spot in the team in place of Dinesh Karthik while MS Dhoni keeps his place as wicket-keeper.Times Now